Surgical techniques are known for harvesting bone marrow from the interior of bones from humans or animals. One known technique for harvesting bone marrow from live human donor patients includes insertion of a first end of a tube through the exterior surface of a bone into the interior of the bone. Following insertion of the tube, a negative pressure is applied to the second, opposite end of the tube to withdraw bone marrow from the bone.
The results of this technique have often been inadequate. One reason is that bone marrow is difficult to remove from donor patients by applying the negative pressure to a tube inserted in this manner.
Bone marrow harvesting surgeries are often uncomfortable, and even quite painful, for the patient. One concern in this area is to perform the harvesting operation as efficiently as possible without causing undue discomfort and pain to the donor patient. Also, there is a concern in obtaining the bone marrow without exposing the patient to unnecessary risks of harm or permanent damage by removing the bone marrow. A further concern is that the harvesting operation produce harvested bone marrow having a sufficiently good quality for use in bone marrow transplants to recipient patients.
A need exists in the prior art for systems and methods which permit bone marrow harvesting and which address at least some or all of the various concerns noted above and other concerns.
It is also desireable in some situations to gather bone samples, such as bone cores, as part of bone biopsy procedures. A need exists for systems and methods which permit consistent and reliable bone biopsies to gather bone samples of sufficiently good quality for analysis. There is a further need for systems and methods for removing the bone samples from the patient which does not expose the patient to excessive pain, discomfort, or a high risk of complications.